Why does Dick Spotswood
want to preserve ‘Dixie’?

Dick Spotswood’s columns should be accompanied with a disclaimer. Something to the effect of, “The thoughts, history and recommendations following have no connection to truth, reality, or sensitivities of non-white people.”

His recent articles suggesting that the name of the Dixie School District should be determined solely by a vote of district residents ignores the fact that 78 percent of the Dixie budget is made up of state and federal funding. His recommendation might make sense if Dixie were a private district. Perhaps that is the solution … a private district.

I also note that Dick has never mentioned the fact that Marin leads the state in racial inequity, a distinction we should be ashamed of.
The suggestion that Noah Griffin and I are “outsiders,” while some lady from Calaveras has standing, is as self-serving as it gets. Why is Dick so committed to preserving the name Dixie, no matter what the verifiable history shows and no matter how African-Americans or other social justice advocates feel about it.

He and Marin County Supervisor Damon Connolly, a former Dixie trustee who as of this writing has refused to endorse a name change, are determined to continue manipulating Marin public opinion with increasingly ludicrous false narratives.

One has to wonder, what is the source of this slave-era enthusiasm? Expect more “origin myths” to come.

— Kerry Peirson, Mill Valley

Firearms safety, and how times have changed

When I went to high school we had a shooting range, and firearm training was provided with gun safety, which many students took. It was education; no one shot anybody.

School, 1958 vs. school today — Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into the school parking lot with a shotgun in a gun rack.

• 1958: The vice principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.

• School today: School goes into lockdwon, police are called, a SWAT team arrives, Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or shotgun again. Counselors are called to assist traumatized students and teachers.

— Walter Schivo, Novato

Property owners should
get rid of eucalyptus trees

In the aftermath of the Camp Fire, what should we do here in Marin to reduce wildfire hazards? If you have one or more eucalyptus trees on your property, be responsible and cut them down and have the stumps killed to prevent re-growth. Eucalyptus are one of the most combustible trees, easily ignited into huge torches.

Marin County ordinance 3342 lists the native trees that require cutting permits and special protection: there are no eucalyptus species on that list.

— Bob Reitherman, Strawberry

Continue to put pressure
on Amazon re: cardboard

Cardboard boxes account for the largest volume of recyclables picked up at our homes now. Therefore, I continue to urge everyone to email Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, at Amazon-ir@amazon.com and request Amazon pick up and re-use Amazon boxes.

I appreciate the many positive responses I’ve gotten from my first letter to Readers’ Forum, and some who seem confused about the issue. But overall, there seems to be broad and positive agreement.

I want to reiterate the reason for the request. Let’s go back to the garbage and the garbage bill you pay every month. You may have noticed that the bill seems to get higher every year, far outpacing inflation.

One of the reasons is that the bill includes not only garbage disposal, but recycling; and while China is purchasing less of our recyclables, recycling itself has changed. It used to be that recycling was glass and plastic bottles, cans and newspaper — all of which could be sold by recyclers at a good price. Now, however, because of the preponderance of Amazon deliveries, cardboard boxes account for 90 percent of recycling. Cardboard cannot be handled by automated trucks, cannot be mixed with other recyclables and does not bring attractive prices. All of this special handling is added to your garbage bill.

Were we to get Amazon to pick up cardboard boxes, recycling would swing back to a more profitable composition and, accordingly, your garbage bill would not continue to escalate so aggressively. Even those who don’t use Amazon have to foot the bill. Therefore, we need to put pressure on Amazon to pick up and re-use its cardboard boxes.